Dying Embers
by Embre Falling
Summary: "I guess it wasn't meant to last," She whispers, looking back at the ground. "You've made other friends, and I… well, you've left me behind."  OneShot in which Joy seeks closure.


**With all this Joy-hate fics going on (Seriously, guys? Joy tries to kill Nina? Don't you think that's a little… uh… UNREALISTIC?), I decided to swim against the current and write this. I probably made at least 1,000 mistakes on this, so…**

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><p>It's 3:04 AM when he wakes.<p>

He lays still for a bit and listens to the rain pounding on the sides of the roof. The wind is howling and he sinks into the pillow a bit, smiling.

He's safe inside his bed, where the rain and the wind and the lightning can't hurt him.

He's not safe from everything else, though.

The smile disappears.

He slides his feet out of bed and puts on his slippers; he's not sure what he's doing or where he's going, but something is drawing him out of bed and he's not about to ignore it.

So he quietly pads out of the room and down the hall, leaving Mick snoring under twisted covers. He spies the stairs and considers going up to Nina's room, but rejects the idea.

She's probably asleep.

Besides, something is drawing him to the kitchen, not the girl's dormitories.

He slides the door open with a soft _creeak, _and pauses, listening for movement. When he detects nothing, he relaxes again, and proceeds forward.

Once he reaches the kitchen, he stops. And he listens.

A soft sniffling noise is coming from the right of the room. Just as he reaches to turn on the light, he stops, and relaxes.

He knows that sound.

"Joy?" His voice is low, quiet; there's no way anyone else in the house could have heard him—not with the rain, anyway—unless they were a few feet away.

The sniffling stops, and he can make out a shape, even in the darkness: the head, the hair, the loose silky pajamas: it's definitely Joy.

"What are you doing down here? Why aren't you in bed?" He asks her softly. He sits down on the floor beside her, resting the back of his head on the table leg.

She shrugs. Her eyes are red.

She's been crying.

"Are you okay?" He asks. She doesn't look at him.

"Remember when we used to come down here?" She smiles sadly, still avoiding his eyes. "Just you and me, without Patricia? Back when… things were normal? When we were still best friends?"

His gaze softens. "Joy…"

"We used to have so much fun down here…" She trails off, looking around the room. "Remember that time we fell asleep and Victor found us, with our heads in the flour bowl?"

He smiles despite himself. "Yes…"

"And that other time," Joy says, sitting up straighter, "When Trudy came down to retrieve her sweatshirt and we had to hide in the cupboard?"

He nods. "It was pretty cramped in there."

She looks straight at him, still smiling, lost in a sea of memories from a happier time. Then she deflates and the smile disappears. She slumps back, against the wall.

"I guess it wasn't meant to last," She whispers, looking back at the ground. "You've made other friends, and I… well, you've left me behind."

"Joy…" He mutters, uncomfortable, wanting to comfort her but not knowing how. "I'm still your friend."

She gives him a quick, sad smile, gone before it registered. "Sure you are."

"I am," He says, and lifts her chin up, making her look him in the eye. "Things don't have to change just because I'm friends with Nina now," He whispers.

She laughs, a short, irritated laugh, and shakes her head, removing Fabian's hand from her chin. "You don't _get_ it, do you?"

He frowns. "Get what?"

_He's so clueless sometimes. _"Fabian…"

She pauses, looks quickly at him, and then leans in. Their mouths meet for a few seconds before she pulls back, blushing furiously. "You have no idea how long I wanted to do that."

He freezes, eyes wide, opening and closing his mouth. "I… I don't…"

She shakes her head a little, not surprised. "I know. You like Nina, not me. You don't have to say anything."

He stares at her.

She smiles, standing up. "Thanks, Fabian,"

"For what?"

She pauses on her way out the kitchen door, turning to look at him. "For closure."

She smirks a little at his puzzled face, then she runs back up the stairs.

The kiss wasn't that great, anyway.


End file.
